402 
©ORE’S RURAL WEW-YORKER. 
CE8. 
©ur ^turii-Seller. 
“ A MAN AND BROTHER; ” 
Or, Aunt Hetty’s Christmas Feast. 
BY MAY WHITNEY HALL. 
Once upon a time, and very near a Christmas 
time, a little rugged beggar rattled at a certain 
area gate on the apex of Snob’s Hill. Now 
Kate, the cook, wan like a certain dog we 
know: her bark would make each separate hair 
stand up “tike quills upon the fretful porcu¬ 
pine," albeit bor liite was a tender and touch¬ 
ing thing to experience. With characteristic 
ferocity she flung up the sash : 
“ Fliat wild yet be afthcr wantin', ye dirtby, 
ragged, shnlvellin, lazy spbalpeen! Lavegothe 
gate, will yes. an git out o'the yar-rud or I'll 
send for a polaceman an’ have yoz urrestbed 
for a varant that yea are! " 
"O, if you please, Miss, 1 only want to see 
Aunt Hetty, and Papa said I was to go right 
up to her room ! ” pleaded the little creature 
piteously. 
“ Worra ! worra! Did iver yez hear the likes 
O’ that! " ejaculated Kate. “ Look at the rags 
iv her, an’the tags iv her, and uary a shoo to 
the feet iv her, an’her l'aoe as purple as me 
ould flannel pettycoat, and thin as the sowl iv 
me ould slipper, an' hear her askin' to go up to 
me lady’s chamber as grand as any goosey-gan¬ 
der iv the lot! An’ is it one iv me lady's Poor- 
House folk ye*he? I faith,an' it's likcthograt- 
tytudo iv yez to come a rattlin’ away like a 
1 harty-horsc power ooutiygraahun, a tryia’to 
wake her out in the hrst wink o' shlupe she's 
had this fliartnight, u shlavlu' fur the loikes iv 
vez. Faith its not meallf ud wake her for yez 
if ehoghoust iv Bloc dy Maky stood at the door. 
It's nothin' yea’ll get. by kaogiu* round this 
house, for ivery blissed sowl in It—burrin' Auut 
Hetty— Is out iv it, a by in’ fill the delicacies iv 
the sasoii for the i'ig Christmas Fhaste to-roor- 
ry! If its hungry yez bo its yersilf that’s sav¬ 
in’ yer appetite fur ilmt same Flmste.an* its my 
advice that ye lave off shulvelltn an' take yer¬ 
silf out iv the yarrud afore the polaceman 
come*,*' accompanying her advice with a penny 
or two, which 1 lie child picked up with a mourn¬ 
ful “Thanks! " which sounded as if her little 
beggar’s heart were breaking with some beg¬ 
gar’s woe. 
As she reached tho pavement two handsome, 
well-dressed ladles stepped from their eurriug', 
ran up the steps, and disappeared within tho 
aristocratic Snob’s Hill mansion. 1 he vagrant, 
seized iiy some unaccountable impulse, run Al¬ 
ter them so quickly that, she suddenly found 
herself within my ladies' chamber, all breath¬ 
less and speechless, an<i unable tor the moment 
to explain hor presence to the astonished pair. 
When sho found hor tongue at last it was to re¬ 
late the usual beggar’s tale. 
Her papa had once been very rich, and lived 
in a beautiful homo “Just, like this, ma’am, for 
he told me so one night when we wore passing; 
and lie loaned against the area gate, and ciied 
so hard! and said:-'My little girl, wheu I’m 
dead and out of the way, it may be they 11 let you 
come here and live! ’ (Morey ! what audacity .) 
And he took sick that very night, and now our 
money is all gone, there's no lire, and poor papa 
hasn’t tasted a mouthful in two long days; and 
bis poor dear feet are cold as toe, aud he can't 
speak any more only to whisper * Hetty ! Het¬ 
ty ! Won’t, some one call tny Hetty 1 ’ And O, 
dear, good ladies, won’t some of you corno and 
do something to make poor papa bettor? I’m 
sure if my papa lived in a big house like this 
now he would h dp you if you were sick and 
cold and hungry, and so near Christmas, too, 
and everybody else is happy I" 
Well—th© story was told with real pathos, but 
only Rosa, the pretty chamber maid, had stay - 
ed to listen to It! It was Christmas Eve, and 
to-morrow the “prodigal son ” of tho house- 
hold was expected home, as Uo had been ex¬ 
pected, 0, how vainly, for many ft long year; 
and both the ladles were so busily employed in 
killing the “fatted calf” against his coming 
that neither had a moment’s time to waste on 
vagrant*. 
O, if “Aunt Hetty ” had not been so soundly 
sleeping, dreaming of the happy days when 
Hon, the baby, made his Hrst appearance on the 
family stage. Again “big sister Hetty ’’ ear- 
rled the rosy c.horub in hor arms, rocked him 
asleep and worshiped him awake. She saw him 
unfold onoe more like a lovely flower, all grace 
and dew and sweetness, and then sho saw with 
unspeakable imguish how easily a breath of sin 
blasted .his beauty. Once more she re-lived 
those terrible hours when Robkiit, her idol, 
wa* proven to be veriest Olay. Again she saw 
him erring, falling, falling deeper and deeper 
into tho abyss of sin, day by day. Once more 
she saw her talented, beaut Uul boy Arrested for 
u heinous crime, committed under the bestial- 
izing Influence oi wine, and heard his cry oi 
“Lost! lost! forover lost!” Thrtt she awoke 
nnd remembered that it was on a Christmas Eve 
he went away, and again hor presentiment re¬ 
turned, that Christmas the tender, merciful, 
forgiving, reconciling time, would restore him 
to her arms. And so, praying and hoping, sho 
falls asleep again, and in a blissful dream saw 
the wretched outcust transformed to a shining 
saint. 
As for “ my ladies" they were busily engaged 
in putting on the “final touches," hanging gifts 
upon tho wonderful Christmas tree; adjusting 
the curtain* 60 that only the artistic ray of sun- * 
light be allowed to enter. They overlooked the ' 
dinner preparations, and dressed the children 
in holiday attire, all the while chatting or the 1 
expected guest. Ah! would he come at last, y 
the poor, uubuppy wanderer ? He would have 
a story to relate would harrow up their souls! 
If Ihey had tears to shed they would reserve % 
them for hU woes 1 for, despite the disgraceful 
stain he had left upon the hitherto immaculate 
Dudley escutcheon, he was well beloved in 
that DUDLEY mansion; and while they saf III ' 
hopeful expectation of bis happy return, the 
poor, pale-faced little pleader went sadly away 
to her garret without so much as a kind word 
from them to relievo “ poor pupa’8 " woes! 
Old KAttg. alone, kept tho child in remem- 
briuiCv. “ Bother til©face iv her!” she said, ' 
gossiping over her tea with Rosa. “ I’m blissed I 
if she didn’t look the picter iv master Robert 
at tin 1 And thin, tho name Iv her! Httty— 
Jist as Robert used to call Miss Mehitablk! and 
did she say it. was her faytber slnt her? and * 
would sho tie aftber wantin' to live with mo ^ 
leddles? lalth an’ its Miss H etty ought to know, ' g 
an’its meHilf ought to uv called her to sphakc j 
wid tho child If the ghouBt iv Bloody MAMY had } 
stood at, the door 1 If the brat proves to bo Rob¬ 
ert’s germ), and bo a shtarvtn wid could this 
ChrlHtmas Eve, one of thtm as is rankin’ so mor- ( 
ry above our bids ’ll niver seo sunshine again.” ( 
“ Perhaps she’ll go to ‘ Auut Hetty’s Christ- 5 
mas Feast." suggested Rosa. "I gave her a t 
ticket, and I’ve got her addresB on a slip of pa- g 
per lu my pocket.” i 
“Ooh! the darlint! May the Howly Virgin 
bliss yez fur that! I’ll bestir tnyeelf in the { 
mornln’ hu’ see if I can find Ihe place; an’if 
iver I sit my eyes on that ohlld Rgin it’s mesllf i 
’ll know who's faytheriv her, and tu«y hap bring t 
him home to thim ae love him like their own 
hearts' blood J" l 
Now, Aunt Hetty was an old maid, as you ( 
must know; and although she was rather 
“ down ” ou children, as a class, one© or twice ( 
a year she liked to gather a perfect swarm of f 
tittle ones about her to ” satiety the maternity j 
within by the lump," ae she used to say, "and | 
have it done with." About (ho time that Rob- e 
ekt’s exile was over, and when they becamo i 
convinced he would not of his own accord come 
home, Aunt Hetty bought n lions©—not. a hand¬ 
some or grand house, not In a “ first-class lota- , 
tion " by any means; tor into such a house sho , 
could never have gathered the children she ( 
wished to find, but it was a house where “the ( 
poor, the maimed, the lame, and the blind,” ( 
could find shelter and sustenance. In fact it , 
was a haven into which she hoped poor Bob and ( 
hla wretched family might drift some day and 
be restored to her arms. 
In this house of Hetty’s was an immense 
room with long tables running through lt x and i 
here was yearly spread her Christmas feasC Jo i 
which came swarming a myriad of hungry chil¬ 
dren—some pretty large children among them 
to be sure, but “ of such ” even the full grown 
ones “ are the kingdom of Heaven.” 
It was a si range assemblage which gathered 
yearly in that room. There were children from 
the dens of filth where soap and water and 
whole clothing were unknown ; from the hiding 
places of sin where no ray of God's light ever 
seemed to come; from streets and sheds, from 
t he bit ter cold of that Winter’sduy they flocked 
in, orowding the room, ihe passages, the door¬ 
step and the pavement, clamoring for bread. 
Such hideous, hungry faces, such bleared eyes, 
prematurely wrinkled cheeks, sin - distorted 
mouths and brutal, vicious chins; such dirty, 
naked breasts, scarred here and there in the 
last street light; such scrawny hands and 
pinched, dilapidated figures; such pitiful, timid, 
anxious faces here and there; such wicked, 
blasphemous ones; such vacant, idiotic ones; 
such apologies for and burlesques of humanity 
I never 6aw congregated anywhere, except at 
Aunt Hetty’s Christmas feasts; and, thank 
God, that 1 do sec them there 1 For not only 
were they gathered to a feast of the fat things 
of earth, hut, after the clamorous body was 
satisfied, the always had some sweet and sooth¬ 
ing hymn or ballad sung: and after, when 
their minds and hearts were somewhat diverted 
from their wretched selves, she had some quiet 
talk about the Man of borrows who had no¬ 
where to lay His blessed head, who all His life 
dwelt among the poor and lowiy, and knew 
their every want; and she tried to make them 
feel that, her Christmas least was but a dry 
crust compared with tho banquet of love He 
had in preparation for them, if they would but 
oorne tu it. And we have great reason to hope 
that many have already gone in to partake of 
that least through the precious ministry of 
those days. 
Every year the old visitors who remained 
came and brought new guests; nnd this special 
feast was crowded, all hungry and expectant. 
The viands smoked upon the table, chairs, 
benches and standing places, all were full; and 
so was Hetty's heart, 
"All these creatures children of God?" she 
asked herself; “these dir.y, deformed, wicked 
wretches, some of them young, O very young, 
in years but tearfully old in sin—all His? All 
brothers and sisters to those who live virtuous¬ 
ly and fart-sumptuously every day? No—no! 
it cannot be 3 Else she more fortunate children 
of the same parent would be more tender to¬ 
ward the suffering, cramped and crippled ones." 
" ‘Feed my lambs! ’ said nc<; surely these are 
uot of His flock? l'ct Ilis wordB, ‘If a man 
; have an hundred sheep and one of them be gone 
; astray, doth he uot leave the ninety and nine, 
goetb into the mountains and seeketh that 
which 1* gone astray ? Aud if so be that he find 
It, verily I say unto you he rejoiceth more erf 
that sheep than of the ninety and nine which 
went not astray ! ’ 
“ These be all gone astray; who goeth up info 
the mountains of their despair, that rise to the 
very heavens, to find the wanderers? Alas! 
not many, in the body, oil mb those rugged 
hights; but we know not wbat ministering 
angels touch their souls with home-sickness, 
longings for the safe fold aud the dear shep¬ 
herd’s voice, tor * tbeir angels do n I way behold 
the face of my Father w hich la in Heaven.' " 
“And whoso shall offend one of these little 
ones, it were better for him (hat a, millstone 
wet© bunged about his neck and he were 
drowned In the depth of the eea!" waa whis¬ 
pered in old Katie's ear by UDosclenoe, a* ahe 
looked upon this company of “ wandering 
lambs.’’ There cam© up before her a vision oi 
that dolioato child who nrfpht he Robert’s 
girl; and the Rebukiug Hand hung a great 
weight upon her because she had delayed her 
Search so long. As soon as possible she slipped 
away to begin it, coming hack presently as pal¬ 
lid as if she had seen her favorite “ghost iv 
Bloody Mary." 
Feasting finished. Aunt. Hetty’s children 
were listening to her aocuatomed words; and, 
clustered about her were all the Dudley aunts, 
unoles, cousin* who “had oolite round to Het¬ 
ty’s poorltOU*© to seo how she managed the 
thing. When Kate entered, Aunt Hetty was 
standing meekly at the foot of tho tablo read¬ 
ing t.o them Christ’s beautiful words; 
“Blessed be ye poor; for yours is the king¬ 
dom of God ! 
" Blessed be ye that hunger now; for ye shall 
bo filled. Blessed be ye that weep now; for ye 
shall laugh. 
“ But woe unto you that are full; for ye shall 
hunger. Woe unto you that. laugh now ; for yo 
shall mourn aud weep." 
Then Aunt Hetty forgot self, time, place, 
everything but this wonderful lovo of Christ 
for His suffering poor, His mercy and continued 
long suffering; the crowd of starving souls be¬ 
fore her unrefreshed by His presence, uncon- 
Boled by His tenderness; and the words poured 
from her heart 
“Ah showers from the clouds of Summer 
Or tours from the eyelids start.’’ 
When she had finished, many upturned, won¬ 
dering faces were wot with tears, many anxious 
ones were full of a glorious hope, and a few 
sin-wrlnkied ones were smoothed into smiles of 
puro resolve and noble Joy; and all, I trust, 
were touched deep down whore no eye of man 
could pierce. 
But Robert did not come. As, one by one, 
her “children” gave her “good-by," “God 
bless you," aud the like grateful greetings, she 
scrutinized, with intense, eager expectation, 
each lace; but no re mem do rod lineaments were 
there. 
“He will not oome!" she sighed, when tho 
lust guest had departed. 
*’ If ye pluzc, ma’am, I’ll take ye to him! ’* 
broke in Kate, uuable to find an easier way oi 
telling her story. 
Filled with astonishment aud Incredibility, 
they ull followed her down the dreary street, 
where the bleak wind shitted to earth its bur¬ 
den of snow; up the creaking stains of the 
house our little beggar bad mentioned; into 
the desolato garret where he lay, “ poor papa," 
on a few wisps of 6traw scattered over the bare 
floor, little Hetty’s rugged bitot shawl spreud 
over him, ucr frail arms cla&plug him tenderly, 
her fair, golden hair mingled with his blank, 
matted curls, her baby face, puro and white as 
the snow drifting in through the paneless win¬ 
dow, pressed to his wrinkled, emaciated, no le68 
pallid cheek. There were tears on that oboek— 
her tears-frozen drops more precious lu the 
sight of Goi> than your diamonds to you, mad- 
ame! There lay the pennies Kate bad given- 
flung away because of no avail! Dead in that 
lonely room she fouud him —dead, and she 
could call back no warmth to the stiff fingers, 
or sight to the glassy eyes, or smile to the shriv¬ 
eled Ups with paltry money or precious-kus 1 
Dead since yesterday, both of them— Robert 
and Hetty 1—frozen stiff in that agonizing lust 
embrace, and me decking our Christmas tree 
the while and preparing our costly gifts and 
dinners. God forgive us! Not a hand, of all 
the happy millions in the great, city, to come 
and close those staring eyes! Not an arm to 
lift them front the floor, and prepare thorn for 
the grave. Not a grave to receive t heir desert¬ 
ed bodies; no cotlin, no mourners—nothing! 
Nothing but God's merciful Love for them ; aud 
for us —the millstones liauged about our necks 
and the everlasting moan of t he sea of Regret 
which surges over us! 
Looking upon those dead faces, we, one and 
all, vowed deeply and truly that God' 6 little 
ones should never again ask from us bread aud 
receive a stone; hut that with open arms and 
purses we would receive and succor them in 
His name, and for dear Robert’s sake. And 
so-otie and all—we are working aud waiting 
Tor the next great Feast. Some of us wiJi un¬ 
doubtedly have it in this same house or Hetty’s. 
but many will be sitting there inside those 
^ mansions " uot made with hands, eternal in the 
; heavens." God grant that none of them go 
• unward toil through the portal of starvation. 
.... ... .. .... .,.. ..-it Ir- l t M’nr 
whose gati-s my may unwittingly have left ajar ’. 
-- 
Wilson, the celebrated vocalist, was upset 
one day in his carriage, near Edinburgh. A 
Scotch paper, after recording theacoldent, said, 
" We are happy to state that ho was able to ap¬ 
pear tho following evening in three pieces! 
Sabbath Reading. 
OLD AGE. 
by katk cameron. 
Life's westward path is fair and calm. 
As sweet and holy us a psalm: 
And at Ha oloae,—tho vlctor’9 palm I 
The long day’s march Is well nigh run, 
Life's battle quickly wit) be won. 
The sunset brings OOP’S own “ Well Done.” 
Were we to choose on Time’s broad page 
The beat and dearest heritage, 
’Twould be the portion of Old Age. 
For when the evening shadows fall. 
And wrap things earthly like a pall. 
We listen for tho Mn-ter’s call. 
Oh ! better than the morning beams. 
And purer thnn youth’s ardent dreams, 
This hour.—so full of Heaven’s gleams. 
Within our reach the longed-for prize: 
’Tis but on earth to close our eyes. 
And open them in Paradise ! 
PARAGRAPHS FROM SERMONS. 
TnE man of true faith feelB that the com¬ 
mand, "Fret not thyself,” and others like it, 
are as binding upon us as any other commands 
whioh are admitted to be of the most solemn 
aud imperative nature. Immense is the error 
and the evil which have arisen from man’s at¬ 
tempting to make distinctions where they 
ought not to bo made. Tho siu of an unquiet 
or fretful spirit is not the same, it is true, with 
other sins, but the obltga^'on which attends the 
command not to indulge in such a *ln is the 
same. No man cat: knowingly violate such an 
obligation, alt hough ltrelatcs to a matter whioh 
tho world 1* apt to designate as of small conse¬ 
quence, without showing that his heart Is not 
tight with God. Wherever God's command is, 
no matter how small the thing is to which the 
command relate*, obedience must follow. 
We ought not to forget that an affectionate, 
confiding, tender faith, habitually exercised, 
would save us half the annoyances of life, for It 
wo Wid lift us up above tho reach of them. If 
an eagle were to fly lowalong the ground, every 
m»n might aim a dart at it, but when It soars Into 
th*n clouds, it is above ©very arrow’s reach. 
Ayid they that trust In God “shall mount up 
with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be 
wary; and they shall walk and not faint." 
Religious faith involves hvivobu the moment; 
that, is to 6ay, of giving to the present moment 
(be whole amount of our present power, on the 
obvious ground of its involving tho whole 
amount. of present duty. In other words, a liv¬ 
ing faith, resulting us it does In a holy heart and 
life, tend! to prevent mental dissipation, and to 
fix the mind upon oae object, namely, that 
which tho present moment brings before it. 
If you wished to look at a portrait cf Raphael’s, 
what would you think to s«« only tho forehead 
uncovered, and thfifi only the eyes, and so on, 
until the features had been separately seen ? 
Could you gain a true idea of the picture as a 
whole? Yet this is the way men look at the 
picture of Christ in the Gospels, reading a few 
verses and mottoes here and there, and never 
considering the life in its wholcnoss and har¬ 
mony. 
Earthly love Is a brief and penurious 
stream, which only flows in Spring, with a long 
Summer drought. The change from a burning 
desert, treeless, springless, <1 rear, to green fields 
and blooming orchards in June, is slight in com¬ 
parison with that from the desert of this world’s 
affection to the garden of God, where there is 
perpetual, tropical luxuriance of blessed love. 
The Church was built to disturb the peaoe 
ef man; but often tt does not perform it* duty, 
tor fear of disturbing the peace of the Church. 
Wbat kind of artillery practice would that be 
which declined to fire for fear of kicking over 
the gun carriages, or waking up the sentinels 
asleep at their posts ? 
St. Augustine remarks that the true servants 
of God are not solicitous that he should order 
them to do what they desire to do, but that they 
may desire to do what he orders them to do; 
that is to say, that they may havo no will in dis¬ 
tinction from and at variance with the Divine 
will. 
Mingling in the world, in the midst of our 
families, in discharge of the ordiuary duties of 
life, it will be with us "according to our faith." 
We may have God with vis, who is ready to bear 
the banner and fight the battles of those who 
trust in biro. 
It Is a part, of God's spiritual economy to 
purify his people by means of the various 
crosses whioh he lays upon them. We should 
bear with entire meekness and patience the in¬ 
firmities aud defects of others. 
We hav e nothing lo do but surrender our¬ 
selves to Code teh day, without looking farther. 
He will carry us in his arms as u tender mother 
bears her ohlld. 
-A DESTRE of anything, or complacency in any¬ 
thing, which does not place God's will first, is 
infidelity to God's claims. 
Of all earthly music, that which reaches farth¬ 
est into the heaven is the beating of a loving 
heart. 
God pardons like a mother, who kisses the 
offense into everlasting forgetfulness. 
